Vanishing Worlds: Art and Ritual of Amazonia April 23, 2007

Prior to European contact beginning in the 1500s, between 3 and 5 million people thrived in South America's Amazon region, an ecologically diverse land mass of 2.5 million square miles. Today, fewer than 100,000 Amazonian native people survive. This exhibition, organized by the Houston Museum of Natural Science, features more than 150 ritual objects from the Ka'apor, Karaja, Tapirape, Ticuna, Shipibo-Conibo and Shuar, several Kayapo peoples and Xingu River region peoples. Colorful headdresses, masks, body ornaments and full body costumes, as well as domestic and utilitarian pieces like basketry, weapons, pottery and textiles, are showcased. These carefully crafted objects were used by shamans and other community members in many ceremonies and stage of life rituals, including name giving rituals for the young, initiation rituals into adulthood and rituals surrounding death and bereavement, harvest and healing.